Backpacker guide published by SA government

It's not often that tourists can claim that their holiday is directly helping the local economy of the country they visit, but for backpackers in South Africa, it's becoming a reality.

To highlight the contribution made by backpackers the South African Department of Trade and Industry has published a 'Backpacking and Youth Travel' guide, in conjunction with Backpacking South Africa, which outlines opportunities for financial gain open to backpackers in South Africa as well as those open to locals seeking to capitalise on the backpacker market.

Last week's launch was attended by the Department for Environmental Affairs, which clearly sees the potential in both educating young travellers and encouraging entrepreneurial spirit amongst the local community. And whilst the youth and backpacking market accounts for rather a slight (20 per cent) portion of the total number of international visitors each year, they generate over £50 billion in areas which the more luxury-focused traveller might avoid - pretty impressive when you compare it to the mere £1.5 billion spent by the same crowd in Oz.

Add to this the fact that backpackers are the fastest growing segment of the tourist trade, and that they stay much longer than the average holiday-maker, and it's not hard to see why the SA government would want to inform and encourage those who prefer to go off-track and find out what's hidden behind the tourist traps.

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